'Grey Ghost' USS Orleck naval museum reopening in permanent home in downtown Jacksonville

Jacksonville's resident warship is once again ready for visitors.

The U.S.S. Orleck, which earned the nickname "The Grey Ghost of the Vietnam Coast" by firing more rounds in support of ground troops than any ship in the Navy, will officially open for visitors on Friday in its permanent berth in the St. Johns River, just off Bay Street across from the Duval County Jail. A "soft opening" is planned for Wednesday and Thursday.

The Orleck, a Gearing Class destroyer that was built in Texas and launched in May of 1945, arrived in Jacksonville more than a year ago but spent most of that time in a temporary berth in front of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. It moved downriver in April to its long-term home, alongside city-owned Pier One.

A temporary building that houses air-conditioned restrooms and a ticket office now stands behind the historic Catherine Street Fire Station building that was moved in March from Metropolitan Park. The city has plans to build a park that will incorporate the Orleck and a new visitor's center, the fire station and a relocated Museum of Science and History.

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The ship sits alongside a large concrete pier, but the pier is not publicly accessible. A wooden ramp now winds its way from the ground to an aluminum gangway leading to the stern of the ship, where visitors are confronted by a pair of the ship's big guns that once took 14 men to operate. The ramp is wheelchair-accessible, but parts of the ship are not.

The ship is the centerpiece of the new Jacksonville Naval Museum. It will be open for public tours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. For the opening weekend — which combines Memorial Day with huge crowds that will be downtown for the Jacksonville Jazz Festival — the Orleck will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"It’s Memorial Day, so it’s a huge military holiday," said Jim Webb, executive director of the Jacksonville Naval Museum.

Plans call for a live band on board, plus food trucks parked near the new ticket office.

Webb said tens of thousands of people have toured the ship since it arrived in Jacksonville, but exact numbers aren't available because the museum couldn't charge admission. While berthed near the Hyatt, the ship sat over state-owned land, which meant the museum could only accept donations. The new site is city-owned, so tickets will now be sold.

"I've learned all about submerged land leases," Webb said.

Admission to the Orleck is $15 for adults, $13 for veterans and seniors, $10 for ages 10-17 and $5 for ages 6-11. Active duty military in uniform are admitted free; admission for active duty military out of uniform is $7.50.

The ship is being transformed into a museum of the U.S. Navy's role in the Cold War, and Vietnam in particular. Webb said the Orleck was once armed with tactical nuclear depth charges that would have blown a mile-wide hole in the water but were never deployed. A tiny drone anti-submarine helicopter sits on a deck near the ship's stern, but Webb said plans call for it to be moved to an interior hangar that, at some point, was converted to a mess hall.

Most of the compartments on the main deck — "officers' country" — are accessible to the public while work continues on others. The ship's store, which once sold cigarettes and essentials to the crew, is now a gift shop selling memorabilia and T-shirts. Visitors can also visit the ship's mess, pharmacy and bridge.

Crews are working on the enlisted berthing areas, where the crew once slept. The spaces have low ceilings and bunks that hang by chains. They will eventually be used for overnight trips by Scouts and other youth groups.

The Orleck has already hosted at least three weddings and a marriage-vow renewal ceremony, plus a steady stream of military retirement ceremonies and Chamber of Commerce mixers. "We’ve probably had private events every day since moving here in April," Webb said.

The 2,350-ton Gearing Class destroyer was launched in May 1945 and operated as part of the Seventh Fleet during the Korean War, then underwent extensive renovations under the Navy's Fleet Rehabilitation and Maintenance program in 1962.

The ship earned 18 Battle Stars, four during the Korean conflict and 14 during the fighting in Vietnam.

It later served as a training ship and appeared in the TV miniseries "Winds of War." In 1982 it was transferred to the Turkish Navy, where it was renamed the TCG Yücetepe, serving until 2000. The Turkish Navy donated the ship to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation and it was kept on the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles, La., where it was damaged by Hurricane Laura in 2020. The Jacksonville group acquired the ship in 2021 and had it towed to a drydock in Port Arthur, Texas, where it was inspected before being towed across the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida and into the St. Johns River.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: USS Orleck warship museum reopens in downtown Jacksonville